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Stocks linked to vaccine developers such as Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax tanked in the leadup to market close Thursday, tumbling after reports surfaced that President-elect Donald Trump would select vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Key Facts

Trump confirmed his selection of RFK Jr. on Thursday afternoon, making the announcement via Truth Social that the former independent presidential candidate would be nominated as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Novavax and BioNTech closed down more than 7%, with almost all of the losses coming after news broke of the selection—Novavax shares dropped to $7.22 as BioNTech shares slid to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed down 5.6% at $39.77, bringing the stock to its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock dropped 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long drop in share price triggered after its latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer experienced minor losses compared to its competitors Thursday and closed down 2.6% at $26.02, though it also had its sharpest drop of the day immediately after the RFK Jr. news.

Pfizer, Sanofi, BioNTech and Moderna shares have dropped since the start of the year. However, Moderna’s stock has tumbled far further than its peers, dropping more than 60% since January, when it traded at $112.50 per share. The biotech company’s stock peaked at $166 this summer and began trading below the $40 mark Thursday.

RFK Jr. has built a reputation as a vaccine skeptic but has stopped short of adopting the “anti-vaxx” label attributed to him by critics. The former environmental lawyer has said his children are vaccinated and that he does not oppose safe vaccines. RFK Jr., who repeatedly promoted the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism, has also falsely claimed COVID-19 targets “Caucasians and Black people” and that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people are most immune to the illness. He said last month while running for president he was “not going to take anyone's vaccines away from them,” noting he wants Americans to know “the safety profile, the risk profile, and the efficacy of each vaccine.” Kennedy has also vowed to remove fluoride from public water and “get toxins out of our food.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/moderna-and-other-vaccine-maker-stocks-tumble-after-trump-taps-rfk-jr-as-hhs-head/ar-AA1u6mF6